CH 9: To the Walls of Pax Tharkas

[Nuke]

Riverwind sleeps until he is awakened.

[Jenara]

"You have a head on your shoulders, and I need that." Laurana replies, watching the group sleep. "We Girls need to stick together, besides, you are a little rebellious, just like me, neither of us would be here if we did what we were told." She winks, she'd be running for her life, scared and about to leave her only home, in the arms of her family.

"Perhaps together we can calm each other down?"

[HorizonsDream]

"Okay, Laurana," Tika says with a small smile. She didn't think this was the best idea as she knew nothing about battles or leading people. That was stuff that would be learned over time, and she just didn't have the experience yet. She would have to chat up Sturm and Caramon later for help.

[Jenara]

"Like me, you can learn." Laurana replies and changes the subject, talking about Tika's family, (so we can move on!)

[JadedDM]

The rest of the night passes uneventfully. When Riverwind begins his watch, he wakes up Goldmoon so she can begin praying.

By the time the sun rises, everyone feels refreshed and a lot better. All of this rest and healing has allowed many of the party to wake up fully energized this morning.

===========

Second Watch (Sturm)
12:00 AM
1:00 AM

Third Watch (Caramon and Tas)
2:00 AM
3:00 AM

Fourth Watch (Riverwind and Eben)
4:00 AM - Goldmoon is woken up and begins praying for new spells. Goldmoon memorizes Cure Light Wounds (x5) and regains Lay on Hands.
5:00 AM - Goldmoon memorizes Cure Moderate Wounds (x3)

The party wakes up at 6:00 AM. Everyone regains 3 HP. Goldmoon memorizes Cure Moderate Wounds (x2) and Remove Paralysis.

It is now Reapember 28, First Watch (7:00 AM).

[Jerrard]

Sturm rises slowly, rubbing the acid burns gently he reaches into his pack for some waybread, he wasnt sure if it was food, but it didn't taste too bad.

"Are we all ready to move on?" He asks, keeping his gaze on Laurana. "We need to make lots of ground, who knows if we are too late already."

[Jenara]

"The Sla-Mori is still some distance, we need to move quickly I suppose.." Laurana looks at the group and the back to Sturm, the Knight was watching her.

"Tas should go up front, Then me and Tika, But I know the way...." She puts her hands in her hair somewhat nervously, "Ummm."

(Suggest for order:
Tas
Laurana / Tika
Sturm / Caramon
Goldmoon / Riverwind
Eben

Thoughts?)

[JadedDM]

(OOC: You left out Magpie. Also, Tas can't take point unless Laurana gives him specific instructions on where they're going; he has no idea where the entrance to the Sla-Mori is.)

[HorizonsDream]

"Have Tas up front with you, Laurana," Tika says. "I'll stay in the back with Eben."

[Breila]

Any order would be fine with me. Goldmoon will use her staff for support and to keep it ready in case of attacks.

[Nuke]

Riverwind falls in line, doting on Goldmoon, his hero.

[JadedDM]

Eben grins at Tika's suggestion. "Well, suddenly getting stuck with rear guard doesn't seem so bad, if I get such lovely company," he says. Caramon lightly snorts and rolls his eyes, but says nothing.

That much decided, the party presses on, Laurana guiding their way. Eventually, the pines give way to open plains, and in the southern distance, Pax Tharkas sits wedged between mountains. By moving steadily, the party can see the Tharkadan walls by late afternoon.

By this point, the sun has almost disappeared in the west; the imposing fortress of Pax Tharkas is nearer still. The tops of its two mighty towers rival the mountain peaks for control of the sky. Between the towers, a massive wall closes off all passage through the mountain gap. A single gate, 30 feet tall and 20 feet wide, seems to be the only entrance.

Continuing on, they follow a narrow trail that climbs steeply from the plains into the wooded valley. Splashing with impartial cheer, a clear brook emerges from the cut in the mountains, as Laurana leads the party ever higher. Soon, the elf leaves the path and begins to pick her way through underbrush made especially dense by the arrival of twilight.

Laurana leads the way along the base of a tall granite cliff for several hundred feet, halting at a slight niche in the wall. She knows this is the entrance to the Sla-Mori. No amount of brute force can open the way. Only by speaking the proper elven phrase will it open. Beyond the entrance, though, Laurana can no longer guide them. She has never stepped foot into the Sla-Mori; nobody has in a long, long time, as far as she knows.

As the others wait for the former princess to open the way, Eben approaches Goldmoon. "Say, I hope you don't mind my prying. But...something that's been weighing on my mind for awhile now. Back at camp, I saw you use some magic...but not like any magic I've ever seen before. I'm no expert in the matter, of course, but I didn't even know that it was possible to heal wounds like that."

==========

It is now Eleventh Watch (5:00 PM).

[Jenara]

"I Know the phrase to open this door, behind it.. I have no idea." Laurana turns, running her hand over the door.

"Tas take point, caramon and Sturm next, magpie with me ok?" she checks on eben and tika, "I need you to make sure no one gets behind us." she hoped it all sounded right, she had no idea, "I will open it."

Speaking the correct words she readies her bow, peering inside with her elven vision.

------


Sturm draws brightblade, keeping his distance till tas steps inside. "Stay close, we do not want t loose anyone."

[Breila]

Goldmoon turns to Eben, holding her holy symbol out to him, talking quietly. "We do not have the time for much talk now, Eben. So I will tell you simply that the Gods have returned to these lands. A Godess called Mishakal has called me to her service, and she is granting me with powers, such as the power to heal, if I serve her faithfully and keep to her ways. I will tell you more next time we rest, maybe we can take a watch together?"

[HorizonsDream]

Tika smiles at Eben when he makes his comment before she listens to him speak to Goldmoon. "I haven't even heard the whole story yet, but do you really need to hear the whole story to believe what she says?" she asks curiously.